Toyota’s electric shock as consumers flock to hybrid RAV4

The Driven

Toyota Australia says the hybrid version of the popular RAV4 SUV has easily outsold the petrol equivalent since its arrival in the Australian market earlier this month – a big pointer to how ready the local market is to embrace electric vehicles and hybrids.

The Australian arm of the Japanese carmaker has confirmed to The Driven that nearly two thirds of the sales of the RAV4 have been hybrids since May 8, indicating a shift in Australian preferences to vehicles with lower running costs and emissions.

Out of a total 1,380 RAV4 sales, 461 have been 2WD hybrids (33%) and 424 have been 4WD hybrids (31%).

It is a notable achievement, particularly considering the controversy over Labor’s target of a 50 per cent share of electric vehicles in new care sales by 2030. That target included plug in hybrids, although this is a simple self-charging hybrid, like the original Prius.

The RAV4 hybrid, which is offered in 6 variants as either 2WD or AWD versions across its GX, GXL and Cruiser models, forms over half of Toyota’s 11 drivetrain configurations for the RAV4.

The day before the RAV4 was released to the Australian market, Toyota reported that it reached a milestone 100,000 hybrid sales in the last week of April – total hybrid sales for the company in Australia consisting of Camry, Corolla, Prius, Prius C and Prius V.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, click here…